Noise Levels in North Image, Vancouver, WA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across North Image
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,091
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
18% of North Image residents
74 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across North Image at 100-meter resolution, combining road, aviation, and rail sources. Green areas measure below 45 dBA. Orange and red exceed the EPA's 55 dBA outdoor threshold linked to long-term health effects. Use the layer toggles to view each source on its own or all together.
What the numbers sound like
- 30 dBAWhisper
- 40 dBASoft rainfall
- 45 dBAQuiet suburban street at night
- 50 dBAQuiet office
- 55 dBAEPA outdoor threshold: light traffic 100 ft away
- 60 dBANormal conversation an arm's length away
- 65 dBABusy restaurant
- 70 dBAHighway traffic 50 ft away
- 80 dBACity bus interior
Population Above the EPA Outdoor Threshold
The EPA's 55 dBA outdoor reference level is a common benchmark for residential noise exposure, especially for activity interference, annoyance, and long-term community noise concerns. About 1,091 North Image residents, or 17.5%, live above that level. By land area, 20.6% of North Image is above 55 dBA.
79.4% below 55 dBA
20.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in North Image compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of North Image
Average noise levels for North Image residents, grouped by direction from the center of North Image. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern North Image; the lowest is in northeastern North Image, where just 11% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern North Image
67.2 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Western North Image
54.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern North Image
51.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern North Image
50.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Northeastern North Image
50.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in northwestern North Image sounds about 227% louder than in northeastern North Image, a 17.1 dBA gap. Every 10 dBA roughly doubles perceived loudness. Within any of these directions, two homes a quarter mile apart can still differ by 10 or more dBA depending on how close they sit to a major highway.
How far back from NE 49TH St do you need to be?
NE 49TH St produces an estimated 52 dBA at its loudest centerline points. Noise drops logarithmically with distance, with the exact rate depending on what's between you and the road. Tree cover, walls, terrain, and pavement type all matter. At roughly a quarter mile back, traffic fades into the noise level of a soft rainfall.
At source
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
165 ft
39 dBA
Soft rainfall
330 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 17% of North Image sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 57% is impervious surface like pavement and rooftops. Both are folded into the per-place decay rate above. Heavier canopy pulls noise down faster with distance; impervious surfaces slow the drop.
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Airport Noise
Portland International (PDX) sits southwest of North Image. The U.S. Department of Transportation models aviation noise around this airport from federal traffic data, and the model uses those federal measurements rather than synthetic predictions.
Blocks under the approach and departure paths carry combined road-plus-aviation noise, with some exceeding 65 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of North Image, particularly to the northeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across North Image
The bar chart below shows the share of North Image residents in each noise band. About 75% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How North Image Compares
North Image sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how North Image's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Landover-Sharmel, Image, Fishers Landing East, and West Minnehaha.
Average noise level (dBA)
North Image's 52.5 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Washington as a whole averages 51.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than North Image because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 17.5% of North Image residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 20.6% of North Image's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Washington average of 27.7% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to North Image
- Distance from highways matters more than the neighborhood name. Two homes in the same zip code can differ by 20 dBA if one sits 100 meters from NE 49TH St and the other 500 meters away. The model captures this at 100-meter resolution, so noise exposure changes block by block.
- Tree canopy can help reduce modeled noise exposure. Roughly 17% of North Image is under tree cover (about average for neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is medium-intensity developed land. Both are measured from federal USDA Forest Service and USGS satellite imagery at 30-meter resolution. Streets with 60% or higher canopy show 3 to 5 dBA lower noise than comparable streets with bare ground or pavement, which is why the per-place decay rate above already accounts for it.
- Airport noise is directional. Portland International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
